Hi all,

anyone ever run a semi synthetic 10W 40 in the 899?

Was thinking of it now that its getting cold..


Also, anyone ever tightened up the preload on the hydraulic lifters?

Never looked at the ones in my car so dont know if they have an adjustment..

THANKS!

also? seen many posts, but never found answers, is there a chip for the 899?

I run 10W40 all the time.

As for the pre-load, I have solid rockers.

Me too 10w40 is all I have ever used

but the book says 15W 40?

OK, if you guys use it, ill give it a whirl! semi synth 10W 40 for winter..
it does sound a bit tappety but I guess theres not much i can do if no one else has tightened up the preload on the rockers.. Ill have a fiddle if I ever change the rocker gasket..

I realised I have an IAW 16FM EC ECU. If I understand right, thats good for the McCritch chip or whatever they call it?

10w 40 is recommended for MPI cars but either 15 or 10w 40 is fine

yeah, this is an 899 SPI. so the recommended oil is 15w 40..

just that seems too thick for my every day commute of 9 miles twice a day, and with winter closing in in Northampton, I thought Id give it a try..

If it sounds terrible, ill just change the oil back to 15W40..

I was gonna try n pair this change up with a fiddle with the rockers

I tried adjusting the rockers up on my old cinq and i destroyed it, it ran so badly I scrapped it, but then I didn't know then what I do now I loved that little cinq

do you remember what the mechanism was like?
Was it a factory preset and you had to cut something?

I had to adjust some tappets on a big running diesel so I may do something similar on the seicento so I dont end up randomly cranking down on tappets that dont need it...

What exactly did you do to it?

At the time It was my first car and it was tapping a bit loud so out came the spanners and I destroyed it, from memory I cannot remember cutting anything off, I may have just been too inexperienced at the time but alot of people told me not to touch them as they were hydraulic, but as said I was a spanner warrior at the time and haven't gone near them since

Ok, i see what you mean.

I appreciate your honesty. I will undertake it as a task to make a project of this business of adjusting hydraulic tappets..

There are several things you need to take into account.. We all know less clearance means the valves open earlier, close later and the peak valve lift is increased (all of these improving your engines breathing)

some of these include the oil pressure, the length of the push rod (the push rod expands when it gets hot and there needs to be enough clearance to take this up), and the same can be said about valve stems. when the clearance gets too small, you start holding valves open and you will loose power and burn your valves.

The way I see it, manufacturers set the lifters so that they will maintain 'at least the minimum clearance required ' and the hydraulic damper will take up the extra clearance as all the parts wear.. So re setting the minimum clearance sounds simple enough, but there has to be a hitch to it..

either a feeler gauge, or a system like "tighten the adjuster until it seats, then back it out half a turn"

sorry for my verbal diarrhea, but yeah.. I have a valve cover gasket that Ive been meaning to change, and Ill have a tinker and let you know how it goes..

Re the oil
When I first got my 899 Cinq I used 15W40 (Castrol Magnatec). At the next oil change I switched to 10W40 (Castrol Magnatec again) and the engine immediately felt better.
I have stuck with 10W40 and used Halfords 10W40 next and now use Mobil S2000 10W40 (usually buy when on offer in Halfords).

Re the rockers
Late 899 Cinqs have pure hydraulic rockers with no manual adjustment (same as Sei 899). So if you have those there is no manual adjustment.
My 899 is a 1994 and had the hydraulic rockers with the adjustable preload on the other end. I did adjust them once and it helped to quiet it down a bit, but to be frank they are just a bit crap...! Having to put an adjuster on a hydraulic rocker is proof the hydraulic part doesn't work too well. So I started looking for a set of non-hydraulic rockers from a 903 Uno or Panda and found an old Panda in a local scrap yard. It clearly hadn't had an oil change for a very long time as the whole rocker assembly in the Panda was caked in treacle!! but at least that saved it from the damp on the yard.
After a thorough cleaning (especially the oilways in the rocker arm) I swapped them over and set the gaps to the Uno/Panda setting and the result is probably the quietest 899 engine you have ever heard

[/QUOTE]
Re the rockers
Late 899 Cinqs have pure hydraulic rockers with no manual adjustment (same as Sei 899). So if you have those there is no manual adjustment.
My 899 is a 1994 and had the hydraulic rockers with the adjustable preload on the other end. I did adjust them once and it helped to quiet it down a bit, but to be frank they are just a bit crap...! Having to put an adjuster on a hydraulic rocker is proof the hydraulic part doesn't work too well. So I started looking for a set of non-hydraulic rockers from a 903 Uno or Panda and found an old Panda in a local scrap yard. It clearly hadn't had an oil change for a very long time as the whole rocker assembly in the Panda was caked in treacle!! but at least that saved it from the damp on the yard.
After a thorough cleaning (especially the oilways in the rocker arm) I swapped them over and set the gaps to the Uno/Panda setting and the result is probably the quietest 899 engine you have ever heard [/QUOTE]

I see.. I Like your thinking!!

I have a 1999 seicento so i guess mine will be fully hydraulic..

I will look for a 903 head and aspire to do the same if i find myself in need of a project!!

any funny advice?

im goin to halfrods to see what oils they have but i will have halfrods semi synth 10W40 in mind..

castrol magnetic 10-40 i swear by it! i know its a bit gimmicy but its good oil i loose more than i burn

tappets - id leave em be i had to beg and plead another user for a set of SX rockers (non adjustable) as no matter what i tried i couldnt get them right but i found out all the tappets where gone you may find the same ill fate if you play with them...

the preload is a 11mm nut with what looks like an udside down flat blade in the middle i used pliers and adjustable spanners to turn the upwards flathead side and a 11mm spanner to lock it in place.

search for "fuffin over heat will you???? DIE!!!!" loads of info on tappets there my friend

I think I have non adjustable SX rockers..

I assume you mean from the 899 Seicento SX?

I basically wanted something to tinker with on a weekend.. I will have a look cuz that gasket leaks and Ive had it for about 8 months waiting for the time to change it...lol

I know castrol is a good oil, ended up getting that ( Castrol 10W 40 Semi Synthetic) I trust that (based on their past with racing oils) its a decent oil..

Whats goin on with people claiming castrol Magnatec its ruined their shells etc I dont know.. I suspect people using an oil too thin for the tolerances designed into their engines. I dont know..

My only two cents on oil is "your car, you choose your oil".. The dealer will put whatever they have in (that they have a deal on (Bulk bought oil) that will work).. My mom takes her 1995 Audi S6 (2.2 turbo 5 cylinder inline) to Audi n they say we suggest 5W 30.. NO WAY i say.. DO YOU SEE 5W 30 IN THE LIST OF RECOMMENDED OILS IN THE MANUAL? DO YOU THINK THAT OIL IS APPROPRIATE FOR THE TOLERANCES IN THIS ENGINE? they go buy fully synthetic 10W 40 for her car...

little J said:

I think I have non adjustable SX rockers..

Click to expand...

If you have a Seicento 899 it will have the non adjustable hydraulic rockers.

Mines a 94 Cinq 899 S so I had adjustable ones sorry if I confused u

At the risk of embarrassing myself....I am currently running our 899 on ASDA 10/40 semi synthetic . It was on offer at £10 for 5 litres and meets all the usual standards. ASDA often do good deals on Castrol too, 5 litres for £10 in summer. Always worth looking in the less obvious places.
Morrisons also usually have very good deals on Texaco oils. I have a Daewoo which I have run on Texaco fully synthetic from Morrisons for over 8 years. Last lot I got was on half price offer at £8.00 for 5 litres. Yep, 5 litres of fully synthetic for £8.00 . It's a bit light for my 899 Sei though at 5w/30.

Ian.

BOOM!

driver side wheel off, sump plug out(hot engine sat for 20 mins), filter off, new filter on plug in, oil in, wheel on! 30 minute oil change.. DO THAT ON A FOCUS!!

10W 40 is definately thinner giving a peppy feel. Ill see how it is starting a stone cold engine tomorrow morning.

Tappets are a tad louder, so Im lookin for a set of solid tappets from a 903!:slayer:

You can do the filter with the car on the ground and the wheels turned to lock.

David C said:

You can do the filter with the car on the ground and the wheels turned to lock.

Click to expand...

Bummer.. oh well, 5000 miles from now ill give that a whirl..instead of getting a chip, I was thinking of getting a little fixture made to offset the crank sensor and put a global ignition advance of say 2 or 3 degrees on... Id prefer a chip from a 1.1 or 999 SPi but i cant seem to find one.. My ECU is a IAW 16FM EC.

any ideas?